help needed - why such a big drop in score

[fiza gupta]

I have given gmat prep exam 5 on 31st march and scored 700(Q50,V34)
total incorrect questions in quant were 5 and
total incorrect in verbal 14 ( RC-5 , CR-5 SC-4)

today i have given exam 6 and scored 640(Q49,V27)
total incorrect questions in quant 4 and
total incorrect in verbal 16 ( RC-8 , CR-5 SC-3)

only big difference is in RC then why such a big drop in marks

if I compare the patterns(incorrect/correct)
no more than 2 questions were wrong simultaneously in exam 5 but in today exam consistently 7 questions were wrong(from 29 to 35)
Is this is the reason my marks dropped?

just 15 days are left for my exam

and my accuracy drops when i see time clock and not able to do rc well,
otherwise my accuracy is not bad but looking at time rc goes down

whenever i do RC good i am confident about it, my score improves
and my target score is atleast 750, what should i do

experts need your help


Thanks In advance

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

I have given gmat prep exam 5 on 31st march and scored 700(Q50,V34)
total incorrect questions in quant were 5 and
total incorrect in verbal 14 ( RC-5 , CR-5 SC-4)

today i have given exam 6 and scored 640(Q49,V27)
total incorrect questions in quant 4 and
total incorrect in verbal 16 ( RC-8 , CR-5 SC-3)

only big difference is in RC then why such a big drop in marks

if I compare the patterns(incorrect/correct)
no more than 2 questions were wrong simultaneously in exam 5 but in today exam consistently 7 questions were wrong(from 29 to 35)
Is this is the reason my marks dropped?

just 15 days are left for my exam

and my accuracy drops when i see time clock and not able to do rc well,
otherwise my accuracy is not bad but looking at time rc goes down

whenever i do RC good i am confident about it, my score improves
and my target score is atleast 750, what should i do

experts need your help


Thanks In advance

This is one of the many reasons that the GMAT can be maddening - the algorithm isn't only taking account of how many questions you miss, but also factoring in the difficulty level of those questions. So it's possible that on two successive tests, you could miss the same number of questions and receive drastically different scores. And because what is difficult for someone else might not be for you, and vice versa, it's close to impossible to game the test in terms of what questions you'll deem most important. So just keep focusing on accuracy and attention.

Some general advice:

In Sentence Correction:

- Always ask yourself, before you select an answer if the sentence, when read literally, is clear and logical.
- be mindful of modifier placement
- be conscious of parallel markers (if you see "and y-ing" it will likely be preceded by "x-ing"


In Critical Reasoning

- Always take another moment and ask if your answer really does impact the conclusion.


In Reading Comp

- Before you select an answer, ask yourself if there's textual support for that answer.


And remember: Nervousness = excitement. Keep reminding yourself that it's a game.

[fiza gupta]

Thanks David Sir for the reply

[[email protected]]

Hi fiza gupta,

The scoring algorithm on the Official GMAT is far more complicated than most people realize. It takes into account a number of different factors - far more than just the number of correct and incorrect answers. As such, you shouldn't be spending time trying to figure it all out. You'd be better served working on building up your skills. A far more useful gauge would be to review each CAT and determine how many questions you SHOULD have gotten correct, but didn't (due to a silly/little mistake). Those mistakes are the things that you have to 'fix' to score at a higher level.

Since the bulk of the missing points that you're looking for will be found in the Verbal section, it would help to know how you work through that section of the GMAT:

1) What Verbal practice materials have you used so far?
2) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC or CR prompt?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[fiza gupta]

Hi Rich Sir,

Thanks for your response,
from 16 incorrect questions more than 10 will be silly mistakes questions,
if i do them again excluding time i do correctly

but with time i just get confused and seem like things not going in my mind
and then reread the things

so how i can improve

[[email protected]]

Hi fiza gupta,

From your analysis, you seem to be dealing with a lot of 'gettable' questions - but you're not answering them correctly when you take a CAT. While that's really helpful to know, we still need to define WHY you're getting those questions wrong. To that end, it would be useful if you could answer my prior two questions:

1) What Verbal practice materials have you used so far?
2) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC or CR prompt?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[fiza gupta]

1)Sources
OG15 , OG16, Question Pack, and Manhattan CR,SC and RC guides
for any doubts i search explanations on Manhattan(especially Ron's) and on Beat the GMAT forums
Veritas test series + question bank

2)
SC -
a) read and understand the meaning without looking into options
b) compare and split the options ( focus on grammar)
c) if left with more than one options with no grammar issues
then check which is explaining meaning more concisely and with no ambiguity
( no redundancy etc.)

CR)
a) Read the question first to know type
b) read statement -> evidence and conclusion (understand reasoning used )
c) pre-think and sometimes miss this step
d) split the options which are definitely wrong
e) if left with two options, then check which is really effecting the conclusion

my -ve point is I reread allot and waste time in Cr and RC

RC)
a) Read paragraph
focus on stressing/contrasting words, conjunctions
try to understand overall view
b) keep a map of it in mind
c)read question
d)slit the options until left with one option

I have given veritas test besides Gmat prep( in all tests weakest section RC, of all incorrect questions more than 50% were RC)
Veritas test:
670 Q51 V31
680 Q51 V32
690 Q51 V34
670 Q51 V31
670 Q51 V31

[[email protected]]

Hi fiza gupta,

Based on what you've described about the Verbal 'steps' that you work through, it sounds like you're making the overall process more difficult than it needs to be. With SCs, you should start with a quick scan of the answer choices - in just a couple of seconds, you should have a pretty good idea of whether there are any obvious grammar issues that you should look for (verbs, pronouns, etc.). Having that knowledge BEFORE you read the prompt should make dealing with the prompt significantly easier - you'll be able to 'attack' it as you're reading it (instead of having to read it first and then attack it as you read it a second time). With CRs and RCs, it sounds like you're not taking enough/any notes - and that means you have to go back and reread and reread and reread the prompt. On most CRs and RCs, with decent notes and the occasional reread of a specific portion of the prompt, you should have an idea of what the correct answer will state before you even look at the answer choices.

You also have to keep in mind that working out of a book is not the same as working off of a computer. I mention this because most of your study materials have been books and reading out of a book for 3 hours won't tire you out the same way that reading off a computer screen will. This is meant to say that one of the likely 'causes' of these silly mistakes is that you haven't trained enough to perform at a high level when working off the computer (when you'll likely be at your most tired on Test Day).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

1)Sources
OG15 , OG16, Question Pack, and Manhattan CR,SC and RC guides
for any doubts i search explanations on Manhattan(especially Ron's) and on Beat the GMAT forums
Veritas test series + question bank

2)
SC -
a) read and understand the meaning without looking into options
b) compare and split the options ( focus on grammar)
c) if left with more than one options with no grammar issues
then check which is explaining meaning more concisely and with no ambiguity
( no redundancy etc.)

CR)
a) Read the question first to know type
b) read statement -> evidence and conclusion (understand reasoning used )
c) pre-think and sometimes miss this step
d) split the options which are definitely wrong
e) if left with two options, then check which is really effecting the conclusion

my -ve point is I reread allot and waste time in Cr and RC

RC)
a) Read paragraph
focus on stressing/contrasting words, conjunctions
try to understand overall view
b) keep a map of it in mind
c)read question
d)slit the options until left with one option

I have given veritas test besides Gmat prep( in all tests weakest section RC, of all incorrect questions more than 50% were RC)
Veritas test:
670 Q51 V31
680 Q51 V32
690 Q51 V34
670 Q51 V31
670 Q51 V31

Can you post a little more info about how much time you're devoting to RC passages during practice tests? (Test-takers often feel that they're moving at an untenable rate, when, in actuality, they're working too fast because they're overly concerned about timing.)

[fiza gupta]

Thanks Rich Sir for giving advice and Thanks David Sir for asking this question

After reading your question, I went to my practice tests and checked i was devoting more than 2 mnts on few Sc and 3 mnts on few CR questions ( and most of these questions on which i was spending extra time were wrong) and in RC i was skipping one whole paragraph at the end due to time issue otherwise -> RC small paragraph (3.4-4.5 mnts reading and 1-2 mnt per question) and long paragraph(4.5-5.5 mnts for reading)

keeping above things in mind, decided to give educated guess, on few questions i was not sure and spending more than required time, not to skip any paragraph , and taken decent notes on lengthy paragraphs

today,I gave Veritas test again
Scored 710(Q51,V36)